


You've Already Won Me Over

by bbethyl



Series: Head Over Feet [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Reaction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-25
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-03-09 01:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3231692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bbethyl/pseuds/bbethyl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Essentially a 6x03 reaction fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You've Already Won Me Over

Jane was terrified.

When Jane was little, and her father would tell her stories of his own days as a member of the Dalton Academy Warblers and of the fantastic, emotionally charged and perfectly harmonized numbers they would put together, Jane would daydream about performing with them. She would sing her heart out while a bunch of Dalton boys doo-wopped behind her. But now, she was going to be singing with a boy, singular. And Jane had no clue how to approach it.

She was so relieved when Mason had asked her to do the assignment with him. She herself was planning on asking Roderick, with the notion set in her mind that Mason and Madison would disregard the instructions of mixing up styles and work together. Which is why she was quite surprised to see Madison make a beeline to Roderick as soon as Glee was over. She sat frozen in her seat for a few shocked seconds, before Mason turned around from where he was sitting in front of Jane to look at her with a beaming grin bright enough to blind someone.

“Be the Alanis to my Carole?” he chirped with a voice so pleasant, Jane felt like she was in Sesame Street. Like a force of nature, Jane smiled back and nodded.

And then they exchanged numbers, which was… oddly thrilling. Jane had boys numbers in her phone. She was friends with a bunch of Dalton guys and a handful of the Warblers. But everything had always felt friendly, up until now. Jane knew that this was probably friendly, too -- after all, it was for an assignment, but there was something about the way Mason was looking at her that felt different, special. Maybe it just had something to do with his natural charm, but Jane was almost sure she felt a sort of electric charge. However, she resolved to put these observations and feelings on the backburner for the sake of the assignment.

And then Mason suggested the damn song.

“Get this,” Mason exclaims, appearing out of seemingly nowhere beside Jane’s locker. “Team Alanis, ‘Head Over Feet’. Team Carole, ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow’.”

Jane’s eyes widened as she stared blankly at Mason, still surprised that he was there, in front of her locker, talking to her.

“Is that a hell yeah, or is that a hell yeah?” Mason adds, and Jane realized that she hadn’t said anything.

“Those are… very great songs. ‘Head Over Feet’ is actually my favorite Alanis song. We’d totally kill it,” Jane beamed, and Mason bounced on his heels in response.

“Of course we would. Hey, Madison is practicing at Roderick’s after school. You should come over my place. We could piece the song together. Since Madison is gone, our music room will be totally free. We won’t even have to fight for it.”

Jane almost questioned the fact that the McCarthys had a music room in their house, but then she remembered who she was talking to.

“That’d be great!” Jane grinned, trying her very best not to let her voice waver.

“Awesome. I can give you a ride to my place after school?”

“Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

“Great. I’ll see you then, Jane.”

And then Mason winked before walking away. He _winked_. Jane’s heart skipped about a dozen beats as she finished up gathering her things for her next class.

Jane made good use of her study hall before school let out. She took the time to Google the lyrics to both songs, just as a refresher. She quickly noticed that there was really no feasible way that these songs could be interpreted in any way other than romantic or flirty. Her mind raced with dozens of scenarios all at once. Jane was tempted to brush off any meaning altogether, having the lyrics and themes of the songs being purely unintentional. Mason could have picked the songs because they were well known and sounded nice. However, Jane couldn’t shake the memory of something Mr. Hummel had told them before Glee ended.

“Choose your songs with intention. We all got in the habit of picking songs for assignments that were relevant to whatever we were going through personally at that time. We found that it is a great way to express your emotions.”

“And annoy the living crap out of the rest of the world,” Santana had piped in.

So Jane didn’t know what to think. An adorable, attractive, fun boy in Glee club may or may not have a crush on her. And they were going to sing a romantic duet together.

The ultimate conclusion was that Jane would just stop thinking about it. She knew that the more she dwelled on the idea, the more worked up she would become, and the more flustered and completely un-cool around Mason she would be, which was the exact opposite of her intention.

Jane was comfortable admitting to herself that she liked Mason. Creepy Madison thing aside, he was cute, funny, and they seemed to share a lot of common interests. Admittedly, Jane was the type to fall too hard, too easily, so saying that she had a crush on Mason wasn’t too far of a stretch. And the potential that maybe, just maybe, the crush might be reciprocated… well, Jane found it better not to think about it, not to get her hopes up.

So, for the remainder of the school day, Jane resolved to wait it out, doing her very best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

Waiting for the end of the day felt like it took an eternity. By the time the final bell rang, Jane was positive that she aged at least a decade.

Jane ended up meeting Mason in the parking lot after school. She found him leaning up against his car, a modest little silver thing that definitely looked well-loved, smiling widely at her. With autumn in full swing, Mason had on a light jacket over his Cheerios uniform, his hands stuffed in the pockets. Jane would be lying if she said she didn’t notice the way the dark blue jacket brought out the color of his eyes.

“Hey!” Jane greeted Mason cheerfully, as she felt.

“Hello, Miss Morissette,” Mason hopped up straight and opened up the passenger door for Jane, motioning for her to enter. “Your chariot awaits.”

“Thank you kindly, Mr. King,” Jane chuckled, climbing in.

The ride to Mason’s house was disappointingly short. Mason had his iPod connected to the speakers in the car, and when a Destiny’s Child era song was the first to play on shuffle, Jane knew that she had absolutely nothing to worry about. The pair spent the entirety of the ride belting every word to any and every song that came up. Jane was astonished to find that Mason knew all the words to a large variety of genres, from Mariah to Kanye to Fiddler on the Roof. Mason seemed to be equally impressed with Jane, going by the smile he gave her after he was able to take his thumb off the skip button when Jane was able to belt out the opening notes to whatever song he played.

Admittedly, Jane was disappointed to reach the McCarthy household. She had been having such a great time just being herself, singing at the top of her lungs with Mason. She didn't want it to end. But the realization that she was headed inside with him to do much of the same was what powered her enough to climb out of the car and step out into the driveway.

“Make yourself at home,” Mason said as he led Jane into the house. “Mi casa su casa.”

Jane was immediately struck with how cute Mason’s home was. It was easy for her to use that word, _home_ , because it looked so lived in. The walls were covered in pictures and paintings and framed quotations. Bookshelves were everywhere, packed full of books and photos and various trinkets. There was even a tray to put shoes next to the door, and Jane found herself following Mason’s lead in taking off her shoes and leaving them there with the rest of them. All in all, it felt warm and humble, like it had been taken out of a Disney Channel original movie from the early 2000s. 

“Mason, is that you?”

Jane almost jumped a good foot in the air in shock when she heard the voice, and saw a woman appear in a doorframe across the hall. In an instant, Jane knew exactly who she was.

“Mom, this is-”

“You must be Jane,” Mason’s mom said, rushing forward to greet Jane. Jane was expecting a handshake, so she was surprised when Mason’s mom gave her a quick hug. “Mason told me you’d be coming over. Make yourself at home, dear.”

“Thank you, Mrs. McCarthy,” Jane said politely, trying not to let her voice show that she was completely nervous and overwhelmed.

“Oh, no no no, dear. Call me Maggie.”

“We’ll be in the music room,” Mason said.

“Remember, no-”

“No dirty lyrics or songs by rapists,” Mason interrupted. “I know, Mom.”

“Make beautiful music, you two,” Maggie grinned, and Jane was struck by how her and Mason had the same exact smile. “And let me know if you need anything. Back up vocals, piano accompaniment, some snacks. Anything.”

Mason rolled his eyes, but still muttered a “thanks, mom” as he grabbed Jane’s wrist and led her away. Jane, of course, was inwardly freaking out, but that was no different than usual.

“I have to get some sheet music out of the sheet music closet,” Mason said as they entered the music room. “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

“You have a whole closet for sheet music?” Jane asked breathlessly, looking around the room in a state of pure awe.

“Of course,” Mason replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Jane took a moment to explore. The music room was nothing short of amazing. It was large, bigger than any other room Jane had seen in the house. There was a grand piano in the corner, and the walls were covered with guitars, ukuleles, violins… any instruments Jane could think of was probably somewhere in this room.

“Aw, are these you?” Jane asked when Mason returned, with a small stack of sheet music in his clutches. She walked towards the piano, which was covered in framed pictures. She noticed that most of them were of a young girl and boy, often draped around each other, beaming at the camera. She knew that they were him (honestly Mason didn't look too much different now), but she still asked. Mason grinned, stepping forward to stand next to her and look at the photographs himself.

“Me and Madison, yeah.”

“You guys were so cute…” Jane trailed, eyes fixed on one where Mason and Madison looked about six or seven, and were both singing into the same hairbrush.

“Were?”

“Are,” Jane laughed, elbowing Mason playfully. "You guys are so close. It's sweet."

"Something about sharing living space inside of another human for nine months. It really brings people together."

"Apparently."

"The twin telepathy thing is totally real. We think exactly alike. It's a blessing and a curse," Mason chucked, before his smile turned into more of a genuine expression. "She's my sister, but also my best friend. She is incredible and I'm actually really lucky to have her."

"I don't know her that well, but... That's really sweet, Mason. Your relationship sounds incredible."

Mason shrugged. "Most find it creepy."

"I guess most haven't shared living space inside of another human for nine months."

"Exactly." Mason smiled, and looked up to meet Jane’s eyes. Their eye contact was game changing. She felt his gaze all to the tip of her toes, and she stared back with equal intensity. The air felt like it got ten times denser in the span of a few seconds. Jane was almost scared to breathe. She just looked at Mason carefully, waiting for words to leave his mouth. Before she did something stupid like glance down at his lips. She was lucky. Mason broke the silence a few seconds later, tearing away his eyes and focusing on the ground. “Do you, uh. Do you have any siblings?"

"Hah, no. No, I wish I did. I always knew that my parents wanted a boy, wanted me to be a boy. I think… they were a little disappointed in me. Especially when my mom couldn’t get pregnant again. That's why they tried so hard to get me into Dalton. It was always my dad's dream to have his son in the Warblers just like he was. Since that can’t happen, I guess I’m the next best thing."

"I'm sorry that didn't work out, by the way. The Warblers are clearly sexist pigs. You're better off with us."

"You know?” Jane said, with a growing smile. “I'm starting to believe that."

Eventually they found themselves sitting on the piano bench together, both songs laid out on the stand in front of them. The piecing together of the song was the easy part. The songs were so similar in style and theme, it almost felt like they were meant to be mashed up.

The hard part was figuring out how to sing it without looking at Mason like he was the sun and the moon.

They practiced the number dozens of times, over and over again. It sounded incredible. Jane was completely blown away by the amount of talent Mason had, the strength of his voice, and the emotion he put into each performance.

As the afternoon quickly dwindled away, their performance was near perfection. They resolved to sing it one last time, giving it their all.

By the time it ended, Jane and Mason were facing each other, faces just inches apart. It would be so easy, so easy, for either one of them to lean in just a little bit to make the connection. Time seemed to stand still as they looked at each other. As they both glanced to each other’s lips.

A sharp intake of breath was enough to break the trance.

“I should-”

“Why don’t we-”

Jane and Mason laughed nervously, clearly embarrassed on both ends. 

“I think Madison is home. She’ll probably want to-”

Mason was interrupted by several loud knocks on the door.

“Mason! Come on, it’s my turn to practice.”

“Yeah,” Mason sighed, standing up. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

x

Jane spent the next day trying not to pass out as nerves and emotions completely consumed her body. By the time Glee club rolled around, she felt like she was dying. But she kept her game face on, and worked her hardest to keep her cool in front of Mason, who, of course, was looking as adorable as always. _Damn it_.

“Nervous?” Jane asked, taking her seat on the stool next to Mason’s. Mason laughed and shook his head.

“After we killed the number every time we rehearsed it yesterday? No way.”

“I just hope Miss Berry and Mr. Hummel like it. They’re professionals, after all.”

“Please,” Mason scoffed. “So are we. We got this.”

“Totally,” Jane smiled.

Shortly after, Rachel stood in front of the gathered crowd to introduce them.

“Hello, Glee club and fellow Glee club alums. Welcome to our first week of assignment performances! This is sure to be a monumental event in history so be sure to remember this moment for your memoirs. First off we have Jane and Mason, who will be performing a mash-up of Carole King’s “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and Alanis Morissette’s “Head Over Feet”. Take it away, you two!”

_Tonight you’re mine completely_  
You give your love so sweetly  
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes  
But will you love me tomorrow? 

Jane was nervous. She kept looking down, away, anywhere but at Mason. Every time she looked at Mason, he was looking at her so warmly, so sweetly. She felt like she was melting on stage in front of everybody.

_I had no choice but to hear you_  
You stated your case time and again  
I thought about it, yeah 

_You treat me like I’m a princess  
I’m not used to liking that_

And then all of a sudden, Jane couldn’t take her eyes away from Mason. There was a connection there. She could feel it everywhere.

_You’ve already won me over in spite of me_  
And don’t be alarmed if I fall head over feet  
And don’t be surprised if I love you for all that you are  
Will you still love me tomorrow? 

In a burst of confidence, Jane stood up. She reached forward and touched Mason’s shoulder as the music increased in intensity and emotion. She couldn’t ignore the way Mason was beaming at her as they sang, happiness just oozing out of him. This is it, Jane thought. This is real.

_Tonight with words unspoken  
When the night meets the morning sun_

_You’ve already won me over in spite of me_  
And don’t be alarmed if I fall head over feet  
And don’t be surprised if I love you for all that you are  
Will you still love me tomorrow? 

Towards the end of the song, smiling felt so easy.

_You’ve already won me over  
Will you still love me tomorrow?_

Never in Jane’s entire life had Jane wanted to kiss someone so badly.

Reality, however, kicked in pretty quickly in the form of Ms. Berry and Mr. Hummel.

If Jane was being honest, Mr. Hummel’s criticism was a little disheartening. She was usually great about taking criticism, because it helped her find ways to improve herself and her performance, but… This performance was different. It was special, it was personal, and it sure felt perfect to her. For the rest of the meeting, Jane found herself lost in her own thoughts.

She couldn’t get that performance out of her head. She couldn’t get the way Mason looked at her out of her head.

Madison and Roderick mashed up “Beautiful” and “You Oughta Know”, which was… Okay, it was a terrible arrangement. It was obvious they just picked the songs because they were the most well known. However, Ms. Berry was sure to reassure them that they at least made up for it by sounding nice, and they had lots of potential. 

As Glee club disbanded for the evening, Jane sat still, her mind still racing with a thousand thoughts. She vaguely heard voices and the sounds of people getting up and leaving.

Jane snapped herself back into reality, and noticed Mason walking out of the auditorium with Madison. She stood up quickly and started towards him.

“Mason! Hey, wait up,” Jane called. Mason turned around to look at her. 

“Jane. Hey,” Mason’s smile was surprised, but clearly real. He flashed Madison a quick look, which she returned, and promptly left so the two of them were alone. “What’s up?”

“We should hang out. Tomorrow, after school. We could maybe go to the Lima Bean? I thought we could watch old New Directions videos on YouTube. See how we could improve our performance.”

Mason grinned. “Yeah, that sounds gr-”

“Like a date,” Jane added, boldly.

Jane watched as Mason’s eyes widened. She watched as his expression shifted from surprise to joy. She watched as Mason laughed and nodded. She watched as she swore he started blushing.

“I’d love that. I’d love that a lot.”

Confidence surging through Jane’s veins, she did the unthinkable. She took that extra step forward and leaned in and gently pressed her lips against Mason’s. It was barely a kiss, just a feather light touch of their lips, but it felt like magic and fireworks and everything good in the world, all at once.

“Mr. Hummel was really right about that song choice thing,” Mason chuckled, looking down and away, cheeks bright red.

“I’d say so,” Jane replied, looking much the same.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow.”

For the rest of the day, week, month, year… Jane felt like she had been smiling forever. And she didn’t think she would ever stop smiling, not so long as Mason was in her life.

She had fallen head over feet.


End file.
